Ustream Goes Hollywood With New Office And Hires

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Back in June, I sat down with Ustream CEO John Ham, who talked about the site’s rapid growth and its plans to expand. At the time, Ham told me that one of Ustream’s key strategies was to foster its relationship with the entertainment industry. Today, the company is taking a big step in that direction: Ustream is opening a new Hollywood office, and it has hired Jason Kirk, formerly MySpace’s VP of Video & Entertainment, to oversee its partnership efforts.

The other new hires include Wayne Sieve, Ustream’s new VP of Sports, who was formerly head of business development at Yahoo Sports. They’ve also hired Jeff Varnell as executive director of business development (he was formerly an executive director of business development at MySpace).

Ustream has had a relationship with Hollywood for a while now — it’s streamed movie premieres, the Golden Globes, and a number of major concerts. But there’s still plenty of room for growth in live online video — the new office will make it easier for Ustream to work with (and hold the hands of) Hollywood execs as they start exploring what they can do with the format.

Ustream’s other offices include its headquarters in San Franicisco, and satellites in Budapest and Dallas.